2021 National Implementation Reports by Parties
Aarhus Online Reporting Tool - online database of final national implementation reports in ECE languages
2021 Reports by international, regional and non-governmental organizations
Article 10 of the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) requires the Meeting of the Parties to keep under continuous review the implementation of this Convention on the basis of regular reporting by the Parties. At its fourth session (Chisinau, 29 June-1 July 2011) the Meeting of the Parties adopted decision IV/4 (ECE/MP.PP/2011/2/Add.1) with the reporting format applicable in the current reporting cycle. The reporting format is available online in English, French and Russian
- KEY FEATURES OF THE REPORTING REGIME
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Reports should be prepared through a transparent and consultative process involving the public in a timely manner. Parties are invited to follow the methodology for the preparation and submission of the national implementation reports set out in the Guidance on reporting requirements prepared by the Compliance Committee (ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2007/L.4), available online in English, French and Russian from: http://www.unece.org/env/pp/reports.html
Signatories and other States not Parties to the Convention are also invited to submit reports on measures taken to apply the Convention, in accordance with the set procedure.
A synthesis report for each session of the Meeting of the Parties summarizing the progress made and identifying significant trends, challenges and solutions shall be prepared on the basis of the national implementation reports. Therefore, their timely submission is very important to ensure that there is sufficient time for processing the information and preparing the report in time for the next session of the Meeting of the Parties.
In addition, international, regional and non-governmental organizations engaged in programmes or activities providing support to Parties and/or other States in the implementation of the Convention are also invited to provide the secretariat with reports on their programmes or activities and lessons learned. - PREPARATION OF NATIONAL IMPLEMENTATION REPORTS FOR THE SEVENTH SESSION OF THE MEETING OF THE PARTIES
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Parties should review their earlier report (submitted in 2017) and submit its updated version (with track changes and clean versions) to the secretariat in accordance with the process described below. Reports from previous reporting cycle are available from: https://aarhusclearinghouse.unece.org/national-reports/reports
Parties are requested to prepare their reports within a length limit of 13,000 words, including the section headings drawn from the reporting format, and to allocate a proportionate level of detail to each item.
I. Timeframe
• Start as early as possible
• Identify stakeholders (working groups and the general public)
• Provide publicly available drafts in national language
• Hold two public consultations:
- First is on possible content of the report, before the first draft
- Second is for comments to incorporate in a subsequent draft
Based on the experience of the previous reporting cycles, to facilitate the preparation of the synthesis report by the secretariat, the recommended deadline to submit the national implementation reports to the secretariat is 1 February 2021. This would allow to prepare a comprehensive synthesis report and translate it in official languages well in advance of the session.
In accordance with decision II/10 ENG FRE RUS, the formal deadline for submitting the report is 180 days in advance of the ordinary session of the Meeting of the Parties. Considering that the next session of the Meeting of the Parties is planned to start on 18 October 2021, the formal deadline would be 21 April 2021.
To ensure a meaningful consultation process and timely submission of reports Parties are advised to use the following timeline for the preparation of their reports:Process Time required Timing National consultation on the content of the report (first preliminary draft outline) 3 months 3 months May - July 2020 First draft 2 months August – September 2020 Consultation on the draft 1-2 months October-November 2020 Final report preparation (including translation, where necessary) 2 months December 2020-January 2021 National Implementation Reports (NIRs) submission deadline Recommended submission deadline: 1 February 2021
(Formal deadline - 180 days in advance of the ordinary session of the Meeting of the Parties)
II. Key tips on the content
• Follow the format in ENG FRE RUS , see annex to Decision IV/4, available from: http://www.unece.org/env/pp/reports.html
• Consult the Compliance Committee guidance document (ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2007/L.4), available from: http://www.unece.org/env/pp/reports.html
• Provide adequate and clear answers to the questions
• Clearly identify new information (new laws, official interpretation, guidance to the public)
• Address all questions but focus on areas of difficulty
• Avoid just listing instruments, but more information on official interpretation
• More information on the practice (practical measures, administrative circulars and institutional arrangements, capacity building, budgetary allocations)
• Be user friendly for the reader
• Avoid cross-referencing
III. How to submit the report
The reports should be submitted to the secretariat through the NIR online tool in one or more of the official languages of the UNECE (English, French or Russian): https://aarhusclearinghouse.unece.org/national-reports/reports
Parties are strongly encouraged to provide voluntary translations in the other two UNECE languages. Those Parties who do so are invited to provide the translations at the latest one month after the original submission deadline. Please contact the secretariat at [email protected] regarding uploading of the translations to the NIR online tool.
Parties are also encouraged to provide the reports in the language(s) of the Party.
Thus, Parties are expected to:
1. Prepare the final clean report in one or more official UNECE languages (English, French or Russian), as well as in the language(s) of the Party.
2. Ensure signing of the final clean version of the report in one of the official UNECE languages, as appropriate, by the responsible officer.
3. Prepare the report in track changes (compare to their 2017 reports) in one of the official UNECE languages, as appropriate.
4. Subscribe to the NIR online reporting tool using “sign in” button as to get the necessary credentials from the secretariat: https://aarhusclearinghouse.unece.org/national-reports/user/register
5. Log in to the NIR online reporting tool using your credentials as to access template for uploading national implementation report: https://aarhusclearinghouse.unece.org/user/login
6. Copy the final report in the official language(s) of the UNECE (English, French or Russian, as available) to the online template
7. Upload as attachments: (in pdf format with a maximum size of 16 MB)
• the signed final clean electronic copy of the report in the official language(s) of the UNECE (English, French or Russian, as appropriate)
• the track changes version of the report
• the final clean electronic copy of the report in the language(s) of the Party
FOR SIGNATORIES AND OTHER INTERESTED STATES
Signatories and other States are encouraged to prepare their reports and send them to the secretariat by e-mail to [email protected]
These reports will be made available online by the secretariat in the language in which they are received.
FOR ORGANIZATIONS
The reports prepared by international, regional and non-governmental organizations about their programmes or activities and lessons learned should be sent to the secretariat by e-mail to [email protected]
These reports will be made available on line by the secretariat in the language in which they are received.
For any questions concerning the national implementation reports, please do not hesitate to contact the secretariat at [email protected]
2021 Synthesis report on the status of implementation of the Convention
- ENG FRE RUS (will be made available in due course)
2021 Reports by international, regional and non-governmental organizations
- Reports by organizations (will be made available in due course)